"Survivors," He crouched down, "there are none nearby."
Anko hugged the ground, focusing on locating any vibrations. "You may be right."
The other Jōnin inhaled sharply, concentrating on scent. "My Sharingan would have been better suited to handle this situation."
She stood, making a quick mental note of their surroundings. "Miss it already?"
"It'll take getting used to, that's for sure," Kakashi closed eyes ridden with bags, shadowed with exhaustion. "anyway, it was something that was never mine to begin with. My normal vision is nothing special."
"You were great with it, though. It's weird to see you without it."
"I see less without it," He almost seemed sick with grief, right before shifting moods. "One thing I won't miss is the way it drained me. It's nice to look with both eyes again. From the same perspective."
Anko gazed up at the sky, stars preparing to light up the night. "Being average isn't too bad. Promise."
"I have to count on the hounds or my own sense of smell now," He reopened them, "it's different."
"Aw. You're still special, poor baby," Anko extended her arm to him, "we should get back. It's pointless to continue searching right now."
Kakashi accepted her hand with his gloved one, yanked up from the sitting position. "Ow."
"What are you doing out here in the first place? You're not even halfway recovered." She scolded loudly, maintaining a slow pace alongside him. Mere weeks since the war came to a close, everyone pitched in to reconstruct. It would be a while before a new sense of order could be established. They found villagers, most already dead, but some in critical condition. He impressed her, always having the spirit to save those in need if it was an option. And when they came up empty, he would get up the next day and lead the next search party. Maybe it was a guilty conscience thing, she mulled it over stoically.
A young, vibrant kunoichi sprinted down dirt pathways, never lucky enough to discover a shortcut. She just had to make it to the training grounds by three. Hopefully they wouldn't start without her. Orochimaru would be wondering where she was. 'Man, you have the biggest crush on him!' one of her teammates teased, 'and you're the clear favorite, for some reason'. She ended up denying that passionately. Wasn't typically late to something so important.
"Go on somewhere, Guy! Or you're gonna get it!"
Anko Mitarashi heard scuffling around the corner, followed by more yelling.
"You get out of here, Tokara! Or I'll be forced to get rid of you!"
She peered cautiously from a distance, barely recognizing the building they were in front of as the Hatake residence. Adorning the windows, she saw blood red spray paint that read vicious accusations.
"What's going on here!?" Anko intervened when rocks were exchanged, clinging to her knapsack. "Stop fighting! Someone might get hurt!"
Guy pointed a finger at Tokara and his friends. "They have vandalized a property! And not just any property... Even if he is my rival.. Someone is about to get hurt! This isn't the way to show support!"
She took a closer look at the graffiti then. 'Friend Killer Kakashi'. 'Murderer'.
"What ugly words to write! They could be rumors!"
"We all know it's the truth," He threw the can down, "the guy's a cold-blooded killer. I'd look out if I were you, Guy. Spend too much time with him and you're next."
"You do not know Kakashi! He would never hurt his teammates! Right, Anko?"
She bit her lip, not knowing how to really side. The rare encounters she had with Kakashi weren't much to judge off of. A little impolite, not the warmest person to be around. However, he didn't strike her as a crazed serial killer. "I... I don't know."
"I heard he just let Obito die," One of the kids added, "let him get crushed by dozens of huge boulders!"
"And now Rin," Tokara crossed his arms, "A guy like that should be stopped before he kills any more comrades!"
Guy, furious by that point, whipped out a kunai. "Spreading lies is unacceptable! This is your last chance to get lost!"
Anko stared in awe, staying silent after Tokara and his gang retreated. She had never seen Guy stand up to anyone like that. Not even when they insulted his father.
"You can't possibly believe them. You know he isn't like that!"
"Rin was my friend," She whispered, remembering all the hate trashing the Hatake name.
"He is of no fault," Might Guy insisted, hurrying to pick up the garbage around the home. "I know because.. he's my friend."
"Really? Even after he beat you during the exams?" Anko asked incredulously.
"I'm hard to bring down," He reminded her, determination fueling the Genin. "so anyone who can do so has my respect! He's the one who pushed me to become stronger! I'll compete with him to the very end! One day, he will face a proper defeat at my hands. But until then.. we'll remain friends and steadfast rivals. So we must watch out for each other."
Moved by his sentiment, she nobly chose Guy's side. If someone like him believed in Kakashi's innocence, she couldn't allow rumors to rattle her. The kid was a lot of things, but not a liar. It had to hurt knowing the whole village was aware of your life story, much less having no privacy.
"Help me," He rushed back and forth, frantically trying to find something to wipe paint off with.
"What?"
"My efforts have all been in vain if Kakashi sees this! Quick, help me clean it up before he gets back!"
Anko hesitated, "But.. My team is waiting for me and-"
"Forget it then!" Guy was still visibly upset, done with convincing. "you aren't a real friend. To me or him. Real friends protect each other from getting hurt!"
"We'll need water," She said after wasting time with inner contemplation; scrounging up some rags and a bag for litter, she went to work, scrubbing hard at the graffiti. Specifically the word, 'Killer'.
A/N;; I wanted to thank you all for the support. Your reviews are what keep me going. Pretty short because.. this chapter was all flashback. Surprised at the low volume of Kakashi/Anko stories. Yeah.. Tokara's a little punk, lol. I'll try to get another update in before next week. ^^